New Beginnings
by Sidney Ella Ford
Summary: ON HIATUS! It is discovered that Leslie survived, and Jesse and Leslie decide that they shouldn't keep anything from each other. Follow them through everything they face, from peer pressure, to new feelings, to new chalanges they must face.
1. New beginnings

OK, thanks to the many suggestions placed by readers, I've revamped this chapter. Thanks to MadTom and Emily for their suggestions, and I thank them for taking the time to help me improve my work.

When Leslie woke up, she was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to many machines which made stranged noises.

_Why am I here? _she thought. _The rope broke, then nothing happened._

"Leslie!" a female voice called, then a woman had nearly suffocated her in a hug. "My baby! You're alive! My baby!" her mother screamed, crying and holding on to the thirteen year old.

At the scream, a nurse and Leslie's father had rushed into the room. Her father joined the hug and the nurse called for the doctor, who did a victory dance as Mrs. Burke kissed him on the cheek, thanking him over and over for saving her baby.

"Mommy? Daddy? Where am I?" Leslie asked in a weak voice unlike her own.

"Leslie, Leslie baby, you're in the hospital. You hit your head last week when the rope you were swinging on broke, and we'd though you drowned!" her father whispered, holing her like a baby and stroking her hair.

"Where-where's Jesse?"

"I'll call his father. You can sleep now."

Leslie did just that, even with her mother's tears, her father's thanking the staff over and over, and the doctor dancing like no one was watching.

--

"Jesse! Wake up!" Mr. Aarons said, shaking his son

"Wasgoinon?" Jesse asked, half asleep.

"Leslie! Leslie's alive!"

"Who? What time is it?" Still half asleep.

"Five thirty A.M.!"

"Then why the hell are you trying to get me up?"

"Your best friend is _alive_!"

Then reality hit him. "She-she's alive!?"

He hopped up and grabbed a jacket from the closet.

"What are we waiting for? Take me to her!" he demanded.

"That's why I woke you up! She asked for you!"

The two Aarons men took the two hour drive to the hospital, Jesse very jittery for the early hour.

They got there, and Mr. Burke met them in the waiting room.

"Their with me," he told the young woman behind the desk, who nodded as the three walked back.

Leslie's mother and nurse were in the hallway, and Mrs. Burke ushered him in. "Go here, it's Leslie's room."

Jesse walked in to see Leslie sitting up, reading a book like she was at home.

She looked up and suddenly started to cry. He walked to her and put his arms around her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, as if he were talking to May Belle after she had a nightmare.

"Jesse! They thought I was dead!" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's okay... Calm down..." he cooed, stroking her hair, but his emotion got through, and soon, they were hugging and crying like there was nothing better to do.

After a while, he pulled back a little to see her tear stained face. He subconsiously reached up and whiped away a stray tear, then started laughing.

After a moment of confusion, Leslie started laughing as well.

"Why are we doing this?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"We just lost our best friend, then got them back. What else is there to do?" he asked, but into his mind popped an answer.

He suddenly leaned forward and kissed her smack dab on the lips.

He pulled back quickly. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't think-"

"Shhh..." Leslie interupted him, placing her forefinger on his lips. "I liked it."

Then he kissed her again, and she responded by putting her arms around his neck and pulling closer to him. He slid his arms around her waist.

They broke apart breathless and red. After releasing each other, they started laughing nerviously.

"When it came time to leave, Jesse stood and made his way toward the door.

"Jesse?" Leslie said in a small voice.

"Yeah, Leslie?" he answered, turning to her.

"They say I can go home next week. Back to being your neighbor. Will you come here to ride back with me?"

"Of course I will."

--

A week later, Leslie was being carted to her parents' car in a wheelchair, Jesse at her side.

Tomorrow they would go to school together like always, and things would be back to normal. \

Or would they?

A/N: ALL reviews are welcome. Any spelling errors you see, feel free to point them out, and I'm looking for a beta, if anyone dares try to beta my eccentric work. Remember to reveiw!


	2. Busy bodies and rhyming

Ok people. I was thrilled at the number of hits I got after one day, so I decided to update ASAP. Remember, I LOVE reviews, and I don't mind suggestions or flames, but I like nice ones the best. This chapter is dedicated to the first people to review this. Thanks!

Jesse and Leslie were sitting in class, passing notes a week after the happening.

What do you think we should do after school? –Leslie

I don't know, we could talk. –Jesse

Why don't we go to Teribithia? –L

I don't want to. –J

Why not? –L

I don't know if you remember or not, but last time you went there, you didn't wake up for a week! –J

Of course I remember, but we have to go back. –L

I know, but how will we get in? The 'bridge' I built isn't exactly sturdy. –J

We could build a bridge that IS sturdy! –L

That's a good idea, but you're not swinging from any rope before it's done. –J

The rope broke, crazy! –L

Hey! Don't call me cra-

"Miss Burke, Mr. Aarons, do you have something you'd like to share with the class?" the teacher asked from the front of the classroom.

"No ma'am," they chorused, looking down guiltily.

"Then I best not see you passing that paper back and forth again," she said sternly, then went back to marking papers on her desk.

--

The school bus slowed to a stop and Jesse, Leslie, and May Belle stood to leave. Once of off the bus, Jesse and Leslie made a mad dash for the door to the Aarons home. They stood arguing about who made it first, and May Belle, wanting to get into the house, screamed.

"It's a tie, now let me get into my house!"

"Temper, May," Jesse said, causing the aggravated seven year old to make a particularly horrid face at him before running inside, then turning as an after thought and making an obscene gesture.

"You really need to stop teasing her," Leslie said in an undertone.

"I will when she stops being so easy to mess with," Jesse said, leading the way into the house.

They headed for the kitchen, where Mrs. Aarons was washing dishes.

"Hey, Mom!" Jesse said, pecking his mother on the cheek before sitting at the table and pulling out his school binder.

"Hello Jesse, hello Leslie," she said, not turning from her work.

"How'd you know it was me?" Leslie asked, giving Jesse a 'is your mother clairvoyant' look.

"I heard you arguing," she said simply.

"Mom," Jesse groaned.

"C'mon Jesse, we've got Pre-Algebra to do!" Leslie said, pulling her binder out too. (Did I mention they were in seventh grade here?)

Mrs. Aarons left the kitchen, because Joyce Anne started screaming.

"Do you remember when you came into my room the other day, what you did?" Leslie asked, looking down.

"Um….. The kiss?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah," Leslie said. "Do-do you like me like that?"

"That depends: do you want me to?"

"I-I don't know, I think I might." (Sorry for the cheesy lines, but I've actually had a conversation similar to this before, though it was through a note.)

"Well, I do. That's why I was crying when I found out you were alive. Do you like me?"

Please say yes! Jesse thought.

"Well, yeah. Do y- do you think we should, you know, go out?"

Please, please, please say yes! Leslie thought.

"I guess if we both feel that way," Jesse answered, giving a half smile to a beaming Leslie, who, unable to hide her enthusiasm, made a strange noise between a squeal and a snort. "Excited much?"

"Idiot!" Leslie managed before kissing him across the table.

Jesse kissed back as he made his way to her side of the table, then his arms slid around her waist as hers made their way around his neck, and they stood like that for about ten seconds before an intruder arrived.

"I knew it!" Brenda shrieked. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

They jumped apart as Ellie came rushing into the room. She spotted the two blushing thirteen year olds and immediately knew what Brenda saw. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut short by a fuming Jesse.

"You two have no respect for privacy and are the nosiest, most self centered brats I've ever met! Get out!" he shouted, getting redder by the second.

They ran out at his outburst, and Leslie was a bit frightened by his temper.

He recovered quickly, and said, "Now where were we?" as he put his hand on the back of Leslie's neck and kissed her again. Then-

"Eeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww!" screamed a voice all too familiar, as it had been screaming other things not ten minutes previous.

This time they did not jump apart, but broke apart long enough for Jesse to say, "May Belle, get the hell out of here."

She ran out before the two had time to join again briefly. They sat down again, both a bit flustered, and set to work.

"What does the Pythagorean Theorem have to with triangles?" Jesse asked, shaking his head in exasperation.

"Uh, I don't know, everything?" Leslie asked sarcastically.

"Please explain, Les," Jesse whined.

"Why? It's simple, Jesse!" Leslie said, wringing her hands to emphasize her point.

"Hey! Les and Jesse! No, Jesse and Les! That rhymes!" Jesse said, changing the subject.

"You would find a way to change the subject!" Leslie said, giggling at his silliness.

The two teens sat at the table, doing homework as the sun went down outside of the Aarons home.

A/N: OK, this is totally fun to write, and I need to know how good it is, so R&R!!


	3. Building the bridge

Ok, this is going really fast. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Emily for her great advice. R&R!

"Wake up Leslie!" Jesse sang, sitting on her bed and shaking her.

"What's wrong?" she grumbled, pulling the covers over her head.

"Nothing! I thought you wanted to go to Teribithia!" he said, yanking the covers off of her and exposing her pajamas, which were a pair of dance pants and an over sized T-shirt.

"I want to _sleep_!" she said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes with the tips of her first two fingers.

"Well, yesterday you wanted to go to Teribithia, and that's what we're doing!"

"How will we get across?"

"We'll build a bridge!"

"Are you okay, Jesse Aarons?"

"Nope! I'm losing my mind because my first girlfriend ever is arguing about whether or not she wants to go to our kingdom!"

"Girlfriend? Oh!" Leslie said, remembering the previous afternoon's happenings.

"Yeah!" Jesse said, bouncing again to make sure she was paying attention.

"I really don't like your bouncing," she said, giving him her best half asleep death glare.

"Then _wake up_!" he said, then he kissed her quickly before getting up and pacing.

The kiss appearently woke her uip, because a minute later, she was shoving him out the door so she could get dressed. She quickly shed her pajamas, and pulled on a green tank top and blue jean shorts.

She opened the door and nearly knocked him over with a hug.

"Morning!" she sang, skipping down the stairs to the kitchen.

Jesse followed her as she grabbed a plastic grocery bag and put in two apples, two water bottles, and a plastic container which held a few left over hamburgers. "_Now_ look who's a bright little ray of sunshine. What _are_ you doing, Les?"

"If we're building a bridge, we need rations!" Leslie said, singing the last part.

"Good greif, Les!"

"Let's go!"

They went down to the creek, where Leslie found Jesse had already brought some plywood, nails, a saw and a hammer.

They quickly set to work, and in no time, they had a secure base.

"We need to stop to eat," Leslie pionted out, looking at her watch to find it was already one.

"Okay," Jesse said. "We just have to put on the rails and put up a sign."

"A sign?"

"Yeah, but we'll write it in Teribithian, so only _we_ will understand."

"Okay, my king, if we're going to eat, we should say a blessing."

"But-but you're not Christian."

"I know, but when I woke up, I realized that _someone_ must have been watching over me, so now I beleive He's there."

"Wow, Les. We can say a blessing."

They said their blessing and finished their meal, then they set to work again.

Around four, they were done, and they stood back and admired their work.

"I think it's a work of art," Leslie thought aloud.

"I think it's a treasure," Jesse said, looking at Leslie, who blushed.

"I think the king should go across first."

"I agree- Ow! What was that for?" Jesse said, rubbing his arm where Leslie had just punched him.

"The king isn't better! I was just being nice!" she said.

"Then we should walk across holding hands," Jesse said simply.

"W-what? Hold...Hands?"

"Yeah. Isn't that what boyfriend and girlfriend do?"

"Yeah, I-I guess."

Jesse held out his hand to her. She gingerly placed her hand in his, and they walked across the bridge. Once at the other side, Leslie, looked at her hand in his, then picked up his other hand with her free one.

"Uh, Les? Are you okay?" Jesse asked.

"Our hands. They look-they look like they're _supposed_ to be together," she said in a high, breathy voice.

Jesse looked again, then he saw it too. There was a light around them.

"Yeah..."

Jesse leant down to kiss her, and she responded softly, then pulled away.

"Wow!" she breathed, as if it were the first time that had ever happened.

Jesse chuckled. "Yeah. Wow!"

Jesse put his arm around her shoulders, where she relaxed and put her head down on his. They walked home just like that, and when they separated, they shared one more kiss.

A/N: OK, Emily, was that good? Ya'll R&R! TTFN!!


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